A/N: And the story continues with...
Penelope's apartment was filled with darkness. Derek could barely see an inch in front of his face. Even the candles surrounding the coffee table had went out.
"Dammit," he swore loudly and kicked the door. It still didn't budge. "What the heck is with this door? It's like there's something behind it."
He continued to cuss and mess with the knob. It was completely stuck. It wouldn't move left or right, and the door wouldn't open a fraction. He couldn't even see the light in the hallway that was always on. How in the hell was that possible?
He turned around to find Penelope standing nearby, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I really am. I never meant for any of this to happen. All I wanted was a night of fun with you and Reid."
Derek realized then that she was hysterical. He needed to comfort her. He needed to let her know he was going to get the three of them away from this ghost.
"Baby, it's okay," he said reaching for her hand. "Really. I'm going to keep you safe. I won't let this ghost hurt you. I promise you that."
"What if...if something bad happens?' she mewed. "I can't stand the thought of losing either one of you. I've never dealt with a ghost before. I played Ouija all the time as a kid and this never happened…"
Derek kissed her then. He wasn't sure how else to stop her rambling, and he was just as scared as she was. Besides, if they didn't make it out alive, he didn't want any regrets.
"We're going to be fine," he said firmly when he pulled away. "Just fine. Now, where's your breaker box?"
Before she could answer, Reid piped up from the kitchen: "Found it!"
The lights instantly came back on when he flipped the switch. Derek had almost completely forgotten the genius was still in the apartment with them. Oh yeah. And a crazed ghost was hot on their trail. It was crazy how she could make him forget even the most urgent of things.
Penelope sighed dramatically with relief. "Thank goodness," she said. Then: "Oh no."
Derek and Reid followed her gaze to the Ouija board, which had found its way to her bedroom. It was laying on her bed with a broken picture on top of it.
The three of them walked in to check it out. "Look at the planchette," Reid said. "It's over this woman's picture."
"Where did that come from?" Derek asked. "I've never seen it before."
"I don't have a picture like that!" she cried. "That looks like it's from the 80's."
Reid picked the planchette up. "Should I look through it? Maybe someone is here and wants us to see them."
"No," Derek said. "We need to stop the game. We need to say goodbye. Baby Girl, how do we end this?"
She didn't answer for a second. "We'd have to burn it to break the connection. Otherwise it will keep hunting the three of us."
"What are we waiting for then?" Reid asked. "You have a fireplace in your living room. Let's just throw it all in."
"No!" she close to yelled. "You can't! It's the only real possession of my father's that I have! If I burn the board, I'll have nothing left."
Derek and Reid exchanged a glance. "Do we have another option?" Derek asked. "This is dangerous, Baby. We have to be reasonable."
"We'll have to play the game again," Penelope said. "We have to do whatever the ghost wants us to. They're obviously unhappy for a reason. Maybe they were wrongfully killed."
"Oh my god," Derek said. "We're all going to die tonight, Penelope. We have to stop playing before it's too late."
"Please?" she said in the adorable tone that she knew he loved. "I know you'll keep me safe, love. This ghost wants us to find something out. We need to keep playing and find out what it wants."
Derek looked up the ceiling in defeat. "You are lucky that I love you," he said. "Really damn lucky."
They were back in the living room now, Ouija board in tow. "We need to relight the candles," Penelope instructed. "We have to recreate the environment that the ghost contacted us in."
Reid started lighting the candles while Derek flipped all the lights off. "The fire stays on," he said in a warning tone to Penelope. "If something goes wrong, I want to be able to stop things before it's too late."
"Okay," she said knowing better than to argue. When Derek got into protective mode, it was best to let him be.
They recited their chant and moved the planchette around the board. "We're back," she said. "Are you here?"
The pointer went to yes immediately. They all looked at one another in shock. "Was that picture of you?" Reid asked. "The one that was broken?"
The pointer traveled to the no corner. "Who was it then?" he asked. "A friend? A relative?"
The planchette moved down to the alphabet and began spelling out a name. They all mouthed the letters as it went.
"Catherine?" Derek asked. "Who's Catherine?"
The board didn't answer. The planchette remained on the E as if he hadn't even spoken. "Hello?" he asked louder. "Who's Catherine?"
The planchette skimmed over these letters even faster. A-S-K P-E-N-E-L-O-P-E
They both turned to look at Penelope then. Derek hadn't even noticed she had removed her fingers from the planchette while they'd been playing it. "Baby Girl?" Derek asked gently. "Baby, who is Catherine?"
She didn't seem to have heard him. Her mind was in a completely different universe. "Penelope?" he said again. "Did you know a Catherine?"
Her entire face changed then. "Burn it," she said. "Throw it in the fire, Derek."
A/N: Will be updated soon!